Cinderson

Transformations

"How are you going to get me into the ball?" Seth asked his companion cautiously.

"Why, with a dash of magic, of course." She winked, and Seth watched as the beautiful woman pulled out a long silvery stick from thin air. A wand. He eyed it suspiciously. Magic. He'd watched this lady transform from a bug into a person not two minutes earlier. And yet, it was hard to believe this was really happening. He ached to believe in magic. Kendra always had. Tales of fairies and princes and magic, magic, magic had been what he'd grown up on. Of course they were; they were Kendra's favorite, and she'd been in charge of looking after him— entertaining him, making sure he went to bed, that he ate his meals on time. Their parents were always too busy arguing. Seth's father had become a better parent, once the man's bickering partner and Seth's care taker had left. But by then he didn't need bedtime stories. So he'd grown up hearing about magic and, well, believing in magic. It was only after Kendra left that his belief faded. It hurt too much to think he lived in a world with fairies and wonder and beauty, that that world could have taken his sister away from him. He'd gone years with a special hatred of magic. The kind of hatred that comes from once loving and trusting something so entirely, the hate that comes from distrust and betrayal and that ever-present wanting for it to prove you wrong.

So there he was, being proven wrong. The swirl of emotion in his gut must have shown on his face. The apprehension to trust that this woman was magical, and the desire to believe again. The firebug woman smiled kindly at him and waved her stick— wand— at a field mouse scampering by them on the forest floor. The mouse grew and expanded rapidly, turning into a horse faster than Seth could blink.

"Now then, is that quit enough proof that I am a capable magic wielder?"

"Wow," was Seth's clever response.

"Remind me, Seth Sorenson, of the ways one can gain entrance into Prince Bracken's ball."

"Uhh," Seth urged his mind to snap back into place. "An invitation, breaking in, sneaking in, or maybe bribery."

"I believe there is one more?"

"Being a young maiden, I guess," Seth said slowly, not understanding why they should even go over that option as it was useless to them. But she turned that mouse into a horse...

"And that is the one we shall work with."

"Why? Can't you just conjure me up an invite?"

"I certainly could. But it would not get you into the ball. All gentlemen invited are well known to the royal family and their guards. You wouldn't be let past the door. Perhaps you'd go to jail for forging an invitation."

"What about bribing the guards?"

"Not every guard is bribable, and you'd need to bribe everyone to ensure your stay would last long enough to find your sister. There is a great safety concern for this celebration, and all palace hands will be on the look out for someone out of place."

"So sneaking and breaking in are out. Then what if I went as a palace hand?"

"You could. But only the highly trusted ones would be in the ballroom. You'd be in the kitchens, likely. If you did manage to get to the party, you'd have duties to see to, making wondering off to look for her difficult."

"But one more young maiden would not phase anyone. She'd be free to wonder and roam as much as she liked and wouldn't be questioned. Fine. It's clearly the best option. Let's get going, then."

"A wise conclusion. I work better in the open, would you mind terribly if we went to your gardens?"

"Sure, follow me." Seth lead the way through the forest, followed by both the fairy and the horse. And then several more mice, some lizards, a collection of birds and even a snake. "So you're the princess in this case, right?" Seth asked, joking.